Historic theatre to remain a historic movie house
The historic Aero Theater on Montana Avenue is changing its operation in less than a month.
It has been announced that the American Cinematheque will be taking over on April 14. The Aero’s current operator, Chris Allen, was notified on Friday that he must vacate the building by April 13.
The American Cinematheque, a 15-year-old nonprofit arts organization, recently restored the historic 1922 Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The theatre, which was renovated by Santa Monica-based architectural firm, Hodgetts & Fung, is now the American Cinematheque’s permanent home.
American Cinematheque presents diverse year-round film series featuring rare, unusual films and videos from all over the world.
It’s unclear what American Cinematheque’s plans are but sources said the Aero will continue to operate as a single-screen theater. Calls to the company went unreturned Monday.
The owner of the building, James Rosenfeld, who also is a city landmarks commissioner, declined to comment on the theater’s plans. He owns the building, located on Euclid and Montana avenues, with a business partner in Chicago.
Allen told the Daily Press last year that the theater has always struggled financially, but over the last several years, fewer and fewer people have come through the doors, while the rent has remained the same. As other forms of entertainment move into the area, there are just too many other things for people to do, Allen said.
Allen hosted a couple of fundraising events last year which helped him pay tens of thousands of dollars in back rent he owed Rosenfeld. He has been paying $10,000 a month to rent the space.
Allen has been operating on a month-to-month lease for years and isn’t surprised that a new tenant will replace him.
But Allen, who has operated the Aero for 11 years, has been kept in the dark about the theater’s future plans.
“I need to be out by April 14 but we don’t know what’s going on,” Allen said. “All of a sudden there is a big push to get us out.”
In an e-mail sent out to Aero supporters over the weekend, Allen wrote: “This sounds like an exciting prospect for the Aero, but there are many questions that we have asked that have not been answered by the property manager or by American Cinematheque. Therefore, we are turning to you, the friends of the Aero Theatre, to help us insure the future well-being of the Aero Theatre... The Aero Theatre is part of Santa Monica’s history, and as such, we need to make sure that we, as a community, know what its future will be. ”
Allen said he’s concerned about whether the Aero will continue to operate as a theater and if it will remain a historic icon on Montana Avenue.
“I think people have a right to know what’s going to happen and when they are going to do it,” Allen said.
The Aero has never been deemed a landmark by the City of Santa Monica, but Landmarks Commissioner Barbara Schnitzler said there is no reason to believe that that theater won’t remain an eclectic movie house.
“The owner has assured us that the use won’t change,” she said. “It’s great for the community to have an operating theater there and this is the best possible use of that building.”
Allen plans to have a final farewell party, but details haven’t been worked out. He said Monday that he might show “Blazing Saddles,” which may be fitting for a final film.
“It’s no time for tears but it’s like a wake,” Allen said. “I just hope everybody comes and has a good time.”
In Allen’s e-mail message, he extended his gratitude to everyone who supported the Aero over the years.
“We feel very fortunate to have been a part of such a great community and it has been a pleasure to have met many of you,” he wrote. “Although we are sad that we will no longer be operating this Santa Monica treasure, during our last month at the theater, we intend to do everything we can to make sure that its 64-year tradition will be preserved.”
The Aero got its name from the Douglas Aircraft Co., which built the theater for its workers in 1939. Movies showed 24 hours a day at first to cater to wartime employees who worked in shifts around the clock. Later, the Aero became a popular movie venue among the general public. Patrons sometimes strained to hear the low-tech sound system, but kids always got a free piece of bubble gum on the way out the door.
Today, it shows second-run blockbusters fans might have missed at big-name multiplexes, or independent films they might have missed elsewhere. Only five or six people arrive for most showings.
Like any well-plotted drama, the recent history of the Aero is filled with twists and turns. In May 2000, a representative of Robert Redford announced to the Santa Monica City Council that the actor/director had plans to buy the theater and restore it as part of a planned chain of independent movie houses. Redford frequented the cinema when he was a young boy.
Theater fans were relieved the Aero, located on a street that is fast becoming the Rodeo Drive of Santa Monica, had been saved from conversion to a clothing store, as so many other small theaters have become. But Redford’s plan later unraveled due to financial problems. Allen thinks patrons would have been more supportive if they knew that.
The Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Association and the North of Montana Association petitioned the city’s Landmark Commission to declare the theater a historical landmark three years ago. But the associations withdrew the petition in 2000 because landmark status could have hindered the deal with Redford.
Landmark status limits changes to the architecture of a building. Even owners who wish to restore a building to its historical appearance sometimes view the status as a hindrance.
And the status does not preserve a building’s historic use, only its appearance. Other theaters with landmark status have been turned into GAP stores and restaurants that feature old marquees and box offices.
City officials have rallied behind the theater, which they see as a link to the past and as symbol for a livable community. City Councilman Kevin McKeown has said he’s been working closely with Rosenfeld, who he believes sincerely wants to save the theater.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 18, 2003. Read the original PDF.